Tricia at Shout brought this story to my attention and I want to repeat it here to do my part in helping spread the word.
Gina of Lattes and Lipstick (which I’m adding to my rss reader right now) is raising money to pay for her husband’s cancer treatment by compiling and selling an eBook of recipes.
I know I have a lot of foodie friends out there, a lot of friends whose lives have been touched by cancer, and a lot of friends with really big hearts. I hope together we can make a difference for this family.
Their Story:
Our names are George & Gina Williamson. We have been married for nearly 17 years. When George turned 50 he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. After radical surgery and painful radiation failed to cure his cancer, George opted to take an alternative route using diet and supplementation. His health greatly improved and he has felt better than he has in years. As he puts it, he is a “specimen of health” outside of cancer. However, his PSA levels did still continue to rise over the next several years.
In 2007 we victoriously enjoyed a Cancer Survivor Day Cruise. George was in his 6th year of survivorship at this point, surprising the doctors that he had made it this far, with no symptoms- and no metastasis. But still that pesky PSA rising…
In spite of uncertainties we have opted to enjoy life to its fullest- because none of us have tomorrow guaranteed, anyway! George just had a birthday- he is now 57.
He also just had some scans done after a pretty substantial PSA jump. For the first time, there is visible metastasis in his hip bone.
Why am I telling you all this??
Because of our belief in following a more natural path toward healing (and because of the lack of any curative options from the medical world), we have determined that George will be treated at an alternative treatment center in California- www.issels.com.
However, because it is alternative, insurance will NOT pay for it, and payment is required up front, in full. We are not wealthy people- as aren’t most people!
Therefore, we have realized that if this is going to be a reality, we need to be CREATIVE.
An idea occurred to me one day while I was brushing my teeth…
If I were to sell SOMETHING of SOME VALUE for only $1.00 and I sold 20,000 of it that would be $20,000-and that would be just about enough to send my husband to this treatment center.
BUT WHAT???
And then it hit me-
RECIPES!!
Everyone loves to share recipes. So I have chosen to compile a collection of recipes from “Friends of George” and sell them for only $1.00. And every penny goes directly into a fund solely created to send my husband to this treatment center. Hey… It might sound crazy. But it might be crazy enough to work. And I’m crazy enough about this guy to do anything to keep him around-for a very long time.
Come on, there has to be at least one instance in all your life when you wanted some dessert but couldn’t bear the thought of another bite of that Alaskan-sized sheet-cake.
Ok, well that’s the situation I found myself in this week.
We had another graduation party for Aaron tonight, and I was on deck to bring the dessert. We had plenty of sheet cake left from parties earlier in the week. I couldn’t bear to eat another bite of cake, but it just seemed too wasteful to throw it all away.
lightbulb!
I sliced up a couple pounds of strawberries that needed to be eaten up anyways. Instead of putting sugar on them, I doused them liberally with Godiva liqueur (mom calls this “medicine,” we both make sure to have a bottle handy in case of emergencies).
While I let the strawberries soak in their chocolate hooch, I whipped up a pint of whipping cream with yet a little more Godiva Liqueur – again no sugar, it wasn’t necessary.
Quantities? I have no idea. Just added till I felt like it might be enough.
Then I took a bowl and made a deep layer of leftover cake, topped it with a layer of drunk strawberries and then topped that with a layer of drunk whipped cream and repeated until everything was gone.
Oh my goodness, I think I’ve got a buzz. Not sure if its a sugar buzz or from all the booze, but I think I’ll wait a while before dribing home.
So next time I have leftover Costco cake from any kind of event, I know what I’m going to do with it. But next time I think I’ll remove a lot of the frosting, that just got in the way.
Tonight I was in need of cookies. Desperate need of cookies. Not just any cookies, I needed chocolate chip cookies. But then I wanted something a little less ordinary too…
I rummaged through the pantry and pulled together what items I had on hand and found a collection I thought might be nice in chocolate chip cookies, that included pecans and coconut as well.
My package of chocolate chips was from Safeway’s O Organics line and had an interesting recipe on the back so I used that as a starting point. I used that as a starting point because, of course, I cannot follow directions from start to finish, I have to make it my own.
Here is the O Organics “Really Delicious Organic Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies” Recipe as it is written on the back of the label:
1/2 lb butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp powdered ginger
2 1/2 cups quick rolled oats
1 cup O Organics chocolate chips
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
Here’s what I used:
1/2 lb butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cardamom
2 tsp powdered ginger
2 cups quick rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup coconut
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Obviously the changes were not drastic, but the cardamom really brightens up the flavor of the cookie.
The remaider of the directions follow standard cookie baking conventions.
Preheat oven to 375
cream butter with sugars on low speed until blended. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Slowly add powdered indgredients until incorporated. Add oats, coconut, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Obviously my changes to the cookie recipe were not that drastic, but the cardamom really brightens up the flavor of the cookie and adds a bit of an exotic dimension.
Unfortunately, I think it needed salt and maybe a little extra something for crunch. Maybe next time I will crumble up some potato chips and add it to the batter.
What does a starving student cook when the pantry’s paltry offerings are little more than leftover chicken, lentils, chicken stock and some leftover vegetables? This starving student made curried chicken and lentil soup.
I simmered the lentils in the chicken stock, chopped and added the chicken, seasoned with curry and cinnamon (the secret ingredient and key to this soup), and then added the veggies shortly before serving. The entire dish took about 20 minutes to complete. A quick and easy dinner that was absolutely delicious.
Yes. A recipe for making rice. It sounds easy, but many people have difficulty getting it to come out right if they are making anything other than that icky instant stuff. The instructions include washing the rice, and that can’t be emphasized enough. Basmati rice has a wonderful delicate scent: washing the rice releases that scent, and removes all that extra starch that masks the flavor, as well.
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